Guide To Select the Right Data Cabling Contractors

October 31, 2014

It is essential to have a robust data cabling infrastructure at office in order to avail efficient and successful Internet availability on computers and other network devices. Thus, the process of hiring a data cabling contractor is of great significance to a company or business organization. A poor choice of contractor might lead to several problems like poor communications, netwn of data network infrastructure will go a long way in setting up a successful communication system for the future.

Here are the few basic things that you need to consider before hiring the data cabling contractors:

Experience

Data cabling is a complex and specialized job, so it is wise to choose the contractor who can bring to the table at his experience of working on multiple large projects.

Plan everything before hiring

It is imperative that you have a plan at hand when you sit down for interviewing the data cabling contractors. You need to pre-plan some of the essentials like where you are going to place the hub and the type of cabling structure you prefer. This exercise will not only save the time and money but will also make your needs very clear to the contractor.

Clear communication

It is vital that you and your contractor are on the same page as far as building the perfect data cabling infrastructure of your company is concerned. You need to clearly communicate every minor detail pertaining to the project so that the contractor gets the right idea.

Technicalities

You need to jot down the type of cables needed and other components prior to starting with the work. Get to specifics like patch panels, data jacks which comply with the latest cabling standards such as CAT5, or even CAT6.

Even after you have done all this, you still cannot take the data cabling contractors on their face value. It is better that you dig deeper and try to read between the lines while going through the stack of marketing material. Vendors are always going to provide marketing material that would contain only the information they wish to provide. You will have to glean critical information from test reports, training programs, support services and even warranty claims.

Here are a few things that you should look for:

Test reports

Here you need to stick to independent test reports as these are often compiled by the third party testing companies and the chances of manipulating them is negligible. You need to understand that it is not quite wise to evaluate worst-case and typical reports – instead try to understand the testing parameters as it would give a better insight about the system.

Training programs

Installation quality is the key to the final performance of a system so it is critical to find out about the training and certification programs being offered by the data cabling contractor. Do not go with the vendors who offer short term training programs that do not last beyond 2 hours. Instead opt for the vendor that provides training for the entire channel. It should include both the fiber and copper channel and should include cable structure designing, installation, termination and testing.

Support services

Opt for the companies that would be providing support services even after installation. It is better to choose the ones that offer free as well as value added support services for at least a year after installation.

Warranties

There are a variety of warranties offered by the data cabling contractors, so you need to go through the finer details of the warranty being offered. Finalize the deal only when you are sure that it covers all your warranty needs.

About Source One Communications

Source One Communications offers business telephone and voice messaging systems, voice and data cabling, business voice and internet service, surveillance systems, call center solutions, and professional service for businesses in Napa, Sonoma, Marin, Solano and San Francisco counties.